Of all the stories of soldiers killed in battles between Israel and Hamas,
three seem to have captured the hearts and minds of Israelis. They
cried for them as though these were members of their families,
accompanied them to their final resting place as though they had been an
integral part of the boys’ lives. Few in Israel knew the three, and
were it not for the war they likely would never have heard of them. This
is the story of three young Jews who bid farewell to their parents and
family, moved to Israel, joined the Israel Defense Forces, served in one
of its leading combat units and found their deaths in war.

The first to go was Nissim Sean Carmeli on July 20. At the age of 16 he took leave of his family in Texas and
came to Israel. Two years later he enlisted and volunteered for the
Golani Brigade, one of the military’s top combat units. His friends
described him as an introverted young man who was shy around his
Israeli-born “Sabra” friends. They spoke loudly and displayed
self-confidence; he spoke quietly, even in a whisper, part of the legacy
he brought with him from the United States.

When he was killed, it came out that he had been a “lone
soldier,” a soldier in Israel without his parents living in the
country, often a new immigrant on his or her own. His parents lived in
the United States. Before the war, he had time to contact them.
Immediatelyafter the fighting began,
he fell silent. Like most of the soldiers, Sean was required to hand
over his cell phone. After his parents were informed of his death, they
got on a plane and made their way to Israel. News of the death of this
lone soldier shocked Israelis. Entire families were glued to their television sets, as they are at such times, and anxiously followed the military’s every move and every piece of information about casualties. They felt sorrow for Carmeli’s loneliness, in life and especially in death at only 21.

In a matter of hours the call went out on social networks,
appealing to people to accompany the lone soldier to his final resting
place. Since he was a fan of the Maccabi Haifa soccer club, fans were asked to
turn up for the funeral. Thousands of soccer fans and others announced
they would be coming to the cemetery in Haifa, and that’s exactly what
happened. Toward 11 p.m. on June 21, tens of thousands crowded into the military cemetery at
the entrance to Haifa. Apart from his parents and a few other family
members, no one from among the thousands had known Sean in life. How
ironic that it was his death that brought them together.

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One mourner, Sharon from the town of Kiryat Gat, told the local Ashkelonet website: “I felt I had to be here. There is something special in seeing this crowd coming to take part in the funeral of a person they did not know.”

Those who attended the funeral of Max Steinberg said
they had never seen such a gathering. Like Sean Carmeli and Jordan
Bensemhoun, Max Steinberg, a 24-year-old Los Angeles native, decided to
start a new life in Israel. He first came on a tour with "Birthright
Israel," which brings young Americans and others of Jewish heritage to
visit Israel, and fell in love with the country. Two years ago, he moved
to Israel on his own and enlisted in the Golani Brigade. As he was in
Israel without his parents, the army designated him a lone soldier.

When word of his death spread, the call went out over
the social networks urging the public to see Max off to his final
resting place. According to police estimates, some 20,000 people showed
up at Carmeli’s funeral, 10,000 came to Bensemhoun’s and more than 30,000 mourners came
to see off Steinberg. The military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem
had seen such turnouts only at the funerals of exalted rabbis.

Steinberg’s final journey was also his parent’s first visit
to Israel. When asked where they wanted to bury their son, they
answered “Israel.”